The changing metropolitan structure of Atlanta, Georgia: Locations of functions and regional structure in a multinucleated urban area

The study of suburban downtowns in the past has emphasized the emergence of multinucleation in urban structure and the growing independence of multiple urban realms. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to identify and compare the employment profiles of each downtown in a metropolitan area, including the CBD. Using data on retail employment, services, and finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE), the four downtowns that exist in the Atlanta region are examined, together with scattered-site employment. This study suggests that downtowns, rather than existing as independent urban realms, are mutually interdependent based on work-trip commuting patterns, shopping behavior, and traffic flows in general, all of which increasingly are automobile based. Mass transit ridership suffers from its primary focus on radial services to and from the CBD and poor service levels to other downtowns and to scattered employment sites.